Nothing Like Starting Over
by Don't Try To Change My Melody
Summary: Sorry to all of the Scarlett/Gunnar fans, but I totally shipped Scarlett/Caleb. This is just an idea that's been running around in my head of what would happen if she went to Washington after Caleb. Not beta read
1. Chapter 1

Scarlett O'Connor stepped on to the elevator in the University Of Washington Medical Center. _Of all the places you could have gotten into an accident…_ _t_ he thought was directed at her best friend, Avery Barkley, who'd been in a car accident while in Seattle on tour with his wife, Juliette.

She'd spent the whole plane ride from Nashville worried about her friend, and it wasn't until she'd stepped out of the taxi in front of the hospital that she realized who else was in this hospital. "Caleb," his name had left her lips in a breathless whisper before she'd entered the hospital. A large part of her was thankful he was working in the Oncology department and there was a very small chance of them crossing paths, another part, silently prayed they'd run into each other.

The elevator stopped on almost every floor, and every time she found herself holding her breath, but it was never him. Finally, the elevator pinged on the floor she needed and she made her way to the room Juliette had said Avery was in. The first thing she saw, through the small crack where the door had been left partially open, was Juliette, fast asleep, head resting on the side of Avery's bed. The sounds of the machines beeping caused an involuntary shudder to course through her body, the last time she'd been in one of these rooms, her mother had died. She didn't realize Avery was awake until she saw his head turn in her direction.

"Hey, you," she said softly, "How are you feeling?"

Avery offered her a small smile, "I've been better, but I could be a lot worse."

Scarlett's eyes roamed his body, noticing first the cast on his leg, and then the multiple lacerations on his face and the bandage that surrounded his head.

"What are you doing here?" Avery asked.

"Juliette called me, told me what happened. Where else would I be?"

"It's just some broken bones and a concussion, I'll be out of here tomorrow, the next day worse case scenario, there was no need for you to fly across the country..."

"Avery, shut up," his best friend chided him, "You are my best friend, of course I was coming."

Juliette woke up at that moment and smiled when she saw Scarlett.

"Hey," she said, glancing at her watch, "Wow, you made good time."

"I called Rayna, Rayna has a plane...it's much easier than trying to book a commercial flight."

Avery and Juliette both laughed at that.

"Come, sit," Juliette gestured to the chair beside her, "How are you?" she asked as Scarlett moved to the seat.

"Well, my husband isn't laying in a hospital bed, so I think the better question is, how are you?"

"I'm okay, especially now that I know he is and he's awake. Now really, how are you?"

Scarlett sighed, knowing what her friend was getting at, "I'm fine. Gunnar and I, we just aren't meant to be, we never will be. Micah needed Gunnar, and I understood that, but I'm not ready to be a mother, and he needs someone that can help him raise Micah. Our paths, they're never gonna intersect at the right time. And the truth is, I screwed up...my heart was already spoken for, it just took me losing that someone to realize it." she couldn't bring herself to say his name, to admit what a huge mistake she'd made.

"He's here, you know," Avery said, looking pointedly at Scarlett.

"Yeah, I know. It actually didn't click until I was getting out of the taxi in front of the hospital. Have you seen him?"

"No, but I feel like it's kind of fate that the two of you are in the same hospital again. You should go find him."

"And say what? Hey Caleb, sorry for breaking your heart six months ago, I screwed up?" she asked, her southern accent getting higher with her frustration.

"Yes!" both Juliette and Avery exclaimed.

"If Avery and I can survive everything we've been through, you and Caleb can survive a little indecisiveness on your part. You've been hurt in the past, you were scared, explain that to him," Juliette told her.

Scarlett was silent for a few moments, "What if he's already found someone else?"

Avery scoffed, "You're not that easy to get over, Scarlett. I'm speaking from experience. Even if I wasn't, I saw the way he looked at you, you don't just get over that kind of love."

Scarlett sighed, "Alright, I'll go see if he's here."

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Scarlett stepped off the elevator for the second time that afternoon. This time, the worry was replaced with nervousness. She made her way to the reception desk, willing herself forward and fighting the urge to run back to the elevator.

"Can I help you?" the brunette nurse asked her, an overly fake, overly cheerful smile plastered to her face.

"I was just wondering if Dr. Rand was on duty right now?" Scarlett asked.

"Yes, he is. Would you like me to page him for you?"

"Please," she replied.

"Right away, just have a seat," she said motioning to a small waiting area.

Scarlett sat down and folded her shaking hands in her lap. The level of nervousness she felt was ridiculous.

"You paged me," she heard him ask the nurse.

"Yes, that young woman in the waiting room was looking for you," the nurse said, and Scarlett wanted to roll her eyes at the way she smiled and batted her lashes.

Caleb turned and their eyes met as she rose to her feet.

"Scarlett...What are you doing here?" he asked, crossing the room towards her.

"I...Caleb, I'm sorry," the sentence came out far more broken than she'd expected.

Always the gentleman, he stepped forward and put an arm around her.

"Why don't we talk in my office?" he offered, guiding her down the hall.

He opened the door to a large office with an incredible view. Scarlett couldn't help but smile at how well he'd done for himself. She sat down on the couch and he sat beside her, keeping a respectable distance from her.

"You flew to Washington to apologize to me?" he asked, to break the silence.

"Yes...well I would have, eventually. Avery was in a car accident, Juliette's back on tour and they're here in Washington...I flew out to check on him, but once I realized what hospital..."

Caleb smiled, "Is Avery alright?"

She nodded, "He's got a concussion and a broken leg, but according to him and Juliette it could have been a lot worse."

Caleb nodded.

"I screwed up," Scarlett said, "That's what I wanted to tell you. You are the most amazing person I have ever met, and I should have never let you go."

She watched as his eyes widened. He hadn't expected her to say that.

"What about Gunnar?"

"I love Gunnar, he's my best friend. We have an amazing musical chemistry, but that's it. I think I was overwhelmed by how strong my feelings were for you, and I told myself that chemistry was more than it was, because I was scared."

"You know, I've imagined this scenario a hundred times in my head..." Caleb started.

"I understand if you don't feel the same, or if you've moved on. The last thing I want to do is complicate this amazing new life you have, but I was here, and..."

He cut her off by placing a finger over her lips.

"I've imagined this scenario a hundred times in my head, but no matter how much I wanted it to, I never thought it would actually happen. I haven't moved on, Scarlett, I've wanted to, but I haven't been able to. I've missed you too much."

"So, does that mean it's not too late for me to ask you for another chance?"

"What about the distance?" he reminded her.

"I could find an apartment here. I'm back writing mostly, I can do that from anywhere."

"Or you could move in with me?" Caleb said, eyes hopeful, "I haven't gotten back used to living alone, I'd like to not have to."

"Yes," she answered, with no hesitation.

 _There's nothing like starting over,_  
 _There's nothing like shedding a heartache,_  
 _Writing a new page to say what you wanna say_  
 _There's nothing like a heart wide open,_  
 _That bittersweet comfort of knowing_  
 _You can let go and take the weight off your shoulders_

 _"Nothing Like Starting Over" Hunter Hayes_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note :Short and mostly filler but it felt necessary to bridge her transition to Washington. Please review, I'd love to know if there are any more Scarlett/Caleb fans around**

Scarlett had been back in Nashville for two weeks. She'd packed up most of her small apartment, well all of it really, with the exception of things she'd have to have until she officially made the move to Washington. Bucky and Rayna, for some reason hadn't thrown in the towel when she'd told them she was moving to Washington. Lord knows she'd given them reason to give up, from her breakdown the first time Rayna had signed her, to the signing and soon following breakup of the Ex's when she hadn't wanted to follow Gunnar to Texas, and now her wanting to relocate to Washington. She wasn't sure if the holdup was Rayna's hope she would change her mind, or truly had something to do with Highway 65's lack of contacts in Washington, but she found herself growing more and more impatient with each passing day.

She was grateful for distractions like tonight, watching Maddie and Daphne perform at the Bluebird. Caleb was working a double at the hospital, and she'd spoken to him briefly that morning, but the distance was harder this time. Probably because of the six months they'd spent apart. Scarlett had been so distracted by her thoughts she hadn't heard anyone approach the table she shared with Deacon and Rayna, and she barely bit back a scream when someone covered her eyes with their hands.

"Avery, I swear to God..." she growled, earning laughter from the man behind her.

"Try again," he said, breath tickling her ear.

She did scream this time, well more squealed, jumping from her seat and spinning to face Caleb before throwing her arms around his neck,

"I thought you were workin' a double?"

"I may have lied about that to give myself time to get here and explain why you couldn't reach me when I was on the plane," he grinned, before leaning down to kiss her.

"Dr. Rand, it's good to see you again," Deacon greeted him, as the couple pulled away from each other.

Caleb smiled and shook Deacon's hand, "I'm not your doctor anymore, Mr. Clayborne, you can call me Caleb."

Deacon laughed, "Only if you stop with the Mr. Clayborne nonsense."

"Well, well, look who it is," came Avery's voice, and the group turned to see him approaching the table, followed closely by Will and his boyfriend, Kevin Bicks.

"Welcome back!" Scarlett cried, throwing her arms around Will, who had just returned from tour that morning, as Caleb and Avery fell into conversation.

"So what's this I hear about you leavin' us?" Will asked.

"I'll still be writing for Highway 65, Rayna wants to find me some contacts up there first though. Once she does, I'm movin' there to be with Caleb," she explained, "I'm gonna miss everyone like crazy though."

"Likewise, missy. You better be at every one of my Washington tour stops," he told her.

"And all of Juliette's," Avery added.

"And Maddie and Daphne's, I know..." Scarlett said, cutting off Deacon as he opened his mouth, "Y'all just do me a favor, don't schedule them on the same night unless someone's opening for someone, so I don't have to choose."

As the night progressed and she watched the rest of Maddie and Daphne's performance, surrounded by her family and friends, she realized just how hard this goodbye was going to be, but when her eyes fell on the man next to her, she knew she was doing the right thing.

" _How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." Winnie The Pooh_

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Caleb's lips found Scarlett's as soon as they entered her apartment.

"I missed you," he told her between kisses.

"I missed you too," she replied, smiling against his lips.

"Six months apart and then only two days together when you were in Washington, wasn't nearly enough," he said, resting his forehead against hers.

"I know," she said, kissing him again, "How long can you stay?"

"I leave on Sunday," he told her, as she pushed his t-shirt up his chest.

"That's too soon," she pouted, as he pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

"We'll make the best of it," he promised, lifting her up and carrying her towards the bed, "You heard Rayna tonight, it won't be long before you're home with me every night."

Scarlett grinned, "I like the sounds of that, Dr. Rand."


End file.
